Who Are The Friends of First Church?

Friends is a non-profit, non-denominational, volunteer organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of Bernard Maybeck's masterpiece, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley.

Built in 1909/1910 it was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

It is our mission to share with a wide audience the unique style and architectural and historic significance of this magnificent building.

Replacement of the leaking and over-aged roof of the 1910 church - the Auditorium, Fireplace Room,
and South Hall
was completed in 2008, along with needed seismic strengthening.
$2.5 million was needed for this preservation project.Below, is a slide show of this enormous task.

This is a slide show. Please wait for it to load.

Thank You to the many generous donors who helped us to match our two major matching grants. We are very grateful to the National Park Service who administers the "Save American Treasures" grant, and to the Getty Foundation for the "Architectural Conservation Implementation" Grant.
Thank you! to American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation for sponsoring "Partners in Preservation" an innovative program to help fund preservation of significant sites in the Bay Area. A GIANT thank you to all who voted for us on-line in this online campaign! You made us the #1 sight to be funded!

What Now?

There is still much to do.

The 1950s Austin organ is in need of repair.
An ambitious landscaping project has begun, partially funded by a grant from The University of California. This grant will only begin the project of restoring Maybeck's vision of a landscape/community interface while adapting to current environmental conditions.

But it isn't all work and no play!

We are sharing the beauty of this magnifisant Church with the public.

Nearly 1,000 people visit yearly. They join in the monthly free tour - 1st Sunday of every month, attend organized tours or enjoy musical events and architectural talks. The visitors range from local and world-wide college classes, museum groups, architects, Maybeck scholars, and tourists to the Bay Area. It is a joy for us to share the beauty of the Church with others - education about its architecture is a major part of our mission.